Experimental test of the optical Bloch equations for solids using free induction decay and hole-burning

Abstract

Recent free induction decay (FID) studies by DeVoe and Brewer1 have shown that the conventional optical Bloch equations (OBE) fail to describe the saturation behaviour of the D1 line (592.5 nm) in Pr3+:LaF3. This is a surprising and important result both for technological and scientific reasons. For hole-burning optical memories2, the effects of power broadening will play a decisive role in the design of such systems. Scientifically, the study of dephasing mechanisms in nuclear and electron magnetic resonance has been actively pursued for some 40 years.Mr. Szabo was affiliated with the National Research Council of Canada, Division of Physics when they authored this article.M. Szabo \ue9tait affili\ue9 avec le Conseil national de recherches du Canada, Division de la physique lorsqu\u2019ils ont r\ue9dig\ue9 cet article.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye